April!

2014

Introduction
AIESEC enables leadership development in young people to make a
positive impact in society. The AIESEC Global Alumni Impact Study uses
primary data to explore the leadership development and impact of AIESECs alumni.
The study involves an analysis of survey responses of over 1000 alumni from 107
countries and a range of different generations and professional backgrounds.!

!
To explore this, the study focuses on three key questions: !
!
!

What is the extent of AIESECs influence on the leadership development of its members?!
What are the leadership traits that characterise AIESEC alumni?!
What impact have AIESEC alumni had in society?!

The analysis is based on the leadership development model of AIESEC, which consists of the
following three elements of leadership development:!

I & Myself!

Self Aware Aware of my strengths and weaknesses; Know my values

and purpose in life!

!
I & The World ! Responsible to the World Aware; Take ownership and action!
!
I & Others !

Effective Communication Engaging others with ones purpose and

values; Communicate effectively and build networks!

The study was conducted by a global team of AIESEC members in 2014. !

This report presents the findings of the study.

Report Structure
Introduction!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Data Overview! !
!
!
!
!
!
AIESECs Influence on Leadership Development!
Leadership Traits of Alumni! !
!
!
!
!
- Personal Development!
!
!
!
!
- Professional Development! !
!
!
!
- Skills Development! !
!
!
!
!
- Personal Values!
!
!
!
!
Alumni Impact in the World! !
!
!
!
Conclusions!
!
!
!
!
!
!

1!
2!
3!
7
7!
9!
11!
14!
16!
21

Legend
TMP: Team Member Program!
TLP: Team Leader Program!
GIP: Global Internship
Program!
GCDP: Global Community
Development Program

Data Overview
Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected through a survey
involving questions that are based on the three key questions of this study.!

In this report, the quantitative data is reported in the form of graphs and statistics. The
qualitative data that is reported is based on examples of typical comments made by alumni in
the surveys. Those typical comments were determined by examining multiple sets of
samples from the total data and identifying the most common themes.!

Survey responses were collected from 1087 alumni with the following characteristics:

Region
5%

Age
100

Central & Eastern Europe

2%

9%

90

27%

Number of Respondents

North America
Western Europe

16%

South America
Asia Pacific

23%

18%

Africa

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10

Middle East & North Africa

0
20

25

30

35

40

45

107 countries in total

50

55

60

65

73

Age (Years)

Current Organisation

Academic Background
Business Administration
Economics

11%

Management

Multinational company

7%

Other
Finance and Accounting

Small or Medium Company

Engineering

37%

Marketing

Entrepreneur

7%

Computer Sciences
Political Science

Government or Government
Institution

20%

Social Sciences
Law

Not-for-Profit Sector

Science

18%

Media & Communications

Other

Psychology
0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Percentage of Respondents (%)

Number of AIESEC Experiences

Percentage of Respondents (%)

AIESEC Program Participation

TMP
TLP
GIP
GCDP
Other
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Less than 2

Percentage of Respondents (%)

3 to 5

5 to 10

10 to 20

Number of AIESEC Experiences

More than 20

AIESECs Influence on
Leadership Development
The vast majority of alumni respondents (84%) consider themselves to be a leader.
This section of the report examines the extent to which AIESEC and its programs has
influenced this leadership development.

Three Elements of Leadership Development

The alumni surveyed were asked to rate the extent to which AIESEC had an influence over the
different leadership characteristics related to the three leadership development elements
mentioned in the introduction of this report. The results are in the graphs below.!

Responsible to
I enjoy taking responsibility

Responsible to the World

the World

I am aware of my responsibility for the world

(country, city) and feel ownership towards it

I am accepting diversity
I developed new insights about other cultures

Effective

I understand and attend to needs of others

Communication
Effective Communication

I communicate effectively with other people and

engage them with my vision

I developed new insights about Leadership

I consider continuous learning as part of my
everyday life
I set and accomplish goals for my own
development
I know my values and live according to it

Self Aware
Self Aware

I know my purpose in life and live according to it

I am aware of my strengths and weaknesses
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

0%

Percentage of Respondents (%)

10%
20%
30%
40%
Percentage of Respondents (%)

50%

It is quite clear that all three areas of the leadership development were at least significantly
influenced by AIESEC, and a large portion of the alumni said that they would not have those
characteristics without AIESEC. Although a large portion also said that AIESEC only somehow
influenced their development in these areas, very few respondents said that AIESEC had no effect.!

More particularly, there were more alumni indicating that, without AIESEC, they would not have
characteristics of effective communication than there were for the other two areas. However, there
were also more alumni indicating that AIESEC only somehow had an influence on their self
awareness. The next subsection goes into more detail regarding which programs develop which
characteristics.

Influence of Each Program

The following graphs present a breakdown of the data per program. Each graph takes into account
those respondents who had only participated in that respective program and no other program.
Because of this restriction on the data, the sample sizes for each graph are very low, and hence,
the conclusions made here are done so with caution.

TMP

TLP

I am aware of my responsibility for the world

(country, city) and feel ownership towards it
I consider continuous learning as part of my
everyday life
I set and accomplish goals for my own
development
I know my values and live according to it
I know my purpose in life and live according to it
I am aware of my strengths and weaknesses
I am accepting diversity
I developed new insights about other cultures
I understand and attend to needs of others
I communicate effectively with other people and
engage them with my vision
I enjoy taking responsibility
I developed new insights about Leadership
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Percentage of respondents (%)

GCDP

GIP
I am aware of my responsibility for the world
(country, city) and feel ownership towards it
I consider continuous learning as part of my
everyday life
I set and accomplish goals for my own
development
I know my values and live according to it
I know my purpose in life and live according to it
I am aware of my strengths and weaknesses
I am accepting diversity
I developed new insights about other cultures
I understand and attend to needs of others
I communicate effectively with other people and
engage them with my vision
I enjoy taking responsibility
I developed new insights about Leadership
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

0%

10%

20%

30%

Percentage of respondents (%)

TMP

For TMP participants, the characteristics that AIESEC seems to have the most influence on are
related to effective communication. In particular, the characteristics that had the highest
proportion of respondents select Without AIESEC, wouldnt have it are: I am accepting of
diversity; I developed new insights about other culture; and I communicate effectively with other
people and engage them with my vision.!

Characteristics related to being self aware seemed to have the most respondents selecting Not
at all, such as: I know my purpose in life and live according to it and I know my values and live
according to it. This indicates that perhaps TMP does not offer as much opportunity for self
reflection and self awareness as desired.!

Characteristics relating to responsibility to the world do not have very extreme responses, but a
fairly large number of respondents selected Significantly influenced' for I enjoy taking
responsibility and I am aware of my responsibility for the world (country, city) and feel ownership
towards it.!

TLP

Respondents who participated in TLP show very similar trends as TMP participants. However, it is
further worth noting that a particularly higher proportion of TLP participants than participants of
other programs selected 'Significantly influenced for I developed new insights about leadership.
This suggests that this program may be particularly influential in allowing participants to explore
their leadership abilities.

GIP

For participants of GIP, AIESEC seems to have the most influence on characteristics related to
effective communication. The characteristics that had the highest proportion of respondents select
Without AIESEC, wouldnt have it are: I am accepting of diversity and I developed new insights
about other culture. The latter is substantially higher for GIP participants than participants of other
programs, indicating that this program is particularly valuable for enhancing cultural awareness.!

Characteristics related to being self aware also seemed to be more influenced by GIP. A larger
proportion of respondents selected Significantly influenced for characteristics like: I know my
purpose in life and live according to it; I know my values and live according to it; I consider
continuous learning as part of my everyday life; and I set and accomplish goals for my own
development.!

GCDP

It is difficult to draw conclusions from the data of GCDP participants, since the sample size is
particularly low. However, one important observation is that, similar to GIP participants, for I
developed new insights about other cultures, a substantially large proportion of respondents
selected Without AIESEC, wouldn't have it. This suggests that GIP and GCDP seem to allow for
greater opportunity to develop cultural awareness than the other programs, and this is consistent
with data presented later in this report which suggests that participants of these programs
develop cultural sensitivity skills.

Summary
In summary, it appears that AIESEC does have a substantial influence on the leadership
development of its members. TMP and TLP seem to particularly influence characteristics of
effective communication, while GIP seems to provide more holistic development. Along with GIP,
GCDP seems to be specifically influential on its participants cultural awareness.!

The next section provides more insights into the leadership traits that participants of each program
develop.

AIESEC gave me a platform to do so many things. I travelled the world.

I was a minority, I was the majority. I failed, I succeeded. I

take
these lessons with me into life every day and
now look to push further in everything I do. I run
marathons and do ironmans, I continue to study and volunteer around
issues that move me. AIESEC is with me always.!

Jennifer Harwood!
Standards Australia Ltd.!
Sydney, Australia

Leadership Traits
of Alumni
This section of the report focuses on the second key question of the study which
aims to explore insights into the leadership traits that characterise AIESEC alumni. These
traits are presented in terms of personal and professional development, skills development and
personal values.

Personal Development
The alumni were asked to indicate which personal characteristics most apply to them. The
following graph shows the results.

Personal Characteristics
I am open minded and accept diversity
I think globally
I am adapting fast to new/challenging
environment
I believe in myself
I learn proactively
I am persistent and result-oriented
I am emotionally intelligent
I have risk-taking attitude
I am consistent with my words and actions
I am creative and innovative
Other
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Percentage of Respondents (%)

As shown in the graph, the majority of respondents

(approximately 67%) indicated that they are openminded, accept diversity, think globally and adapt to
different environments. Repeatedly, alumni mentioned
in their comments how their exposure to different
people and places allowed them to broaden their
perspective and understanding of the world, which
relates to the Effective Communication aspect of the
leadership development model. Often, alumni
described themselves with phrases like global citizen
and globally-minded. These sentiments are summed
up in the comment on the right of this particular
alumnus from Canada.!

While appreciation of differences was a major theme in

responses, many alumni also seemed mention how
they learned to appreciate the similarities that bring
people together. An example is this comment on the
right of an alumnus from New Zealand.!

I am a more empathetic person

because of my connection to the
people I met in AIESEC and the issues
facing people all over the world. I feel
connected to global events and believe
I can make differences locally that
relate to global situations.

Alumnus from Canada

It reinforced my existing belief that

we live in a small world and people of
all different cultures are
fundamentally the same and equally
valuable.

Alumnus from New Zealand

Another dominant theme that recurred in responses

was personal confidence and drive, which relates to
the Self Aware aspect of the leadership development
model. This is reflected in the graph by, for example,
the selection of I believe in myself, I learn
proactively and I am persistent and result-oriented by
around 45-55% of respondents. The respondents
often mentioned becoming empowered to take
untraditional paths and gain the skills and experience
to be able to achieve goals. This is summed up by the
comment on the right from an alumnus from Canada.!

!
!
!

This comment of this alumnus from the United States

is another example how AIESEC can help people
develop the personal confidence to make significant
life changes.!

AIESECs international opportunities

and the many talented people I met
through its global network gave me
the confidence to follow an
untraditional career path and
contribute to fixing some of the
world's problems rather than settle
for a typical existence based on the
expectation of others. I'm very pleased
to have my AIESEC experience as a
foundation for whatever challenge I
choose to tackle.

Alumnus from Canada

I am not afraid to live or work in a

different country - despite all the
obstacles living and working abroad
inevitably entails. In fact, this year, I
moved from Miami, FL - quitting my
job as a successful attorney - to
Brussels, Belgium to pursue a career
in international public policy. Without
my experience with AIESEC, I highly
doubt I would have the drive and
confidence to make such a drastic
change!

Alumnus from USA

Degree of AIESECs Influence

The alumni surveyed were asked to rank the degree to which AIESEC influenced their personal
development on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being no influence, and 10 being extreme influence).

As can be seen in the graph, most respondents indicated a high to extreme degree of influence.
10 (Extreme)
Degree of Influence

9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1 (None)
0%

10%

20%

30%

Percentage of respondents (%)

Professional Development
The alumni were also asked to indicate which professional characteristics most apply to them.
The following graph shows the results.

Professional Characteristics
I set career goals for myself
I effectively set goals and timeline for my
duties
I work effectively without much supervision
I get along well and easy with diverse
employees at my work
I am proactively bringing new ideas at my
work
I work abroad or with multicultural teams
I lead a team(s) at my work
I am coach or mentor
I develop or implement new projects in an
organization
I am regularly getting rewarded for the
quality of my work
I develop innovations at my work
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Percentage of Respondents (%)

Similar to the results on personal development, much of the professional development related to
diversity and new perspectives. !

A large proportion of respondents (approximately

58%) indicated that they get along well and easy
with diverse employees at work, which, again,
relates to the Effective Communication aspect of the
leadership development model. The comments from
alumni seem to indicate that this may stem from the
exposure to diverse people that alumni experienced in
AIESEC. The comment on the right from an alumnus
working in a multinational bank is one example of what
many respondents expressed.!

Working in a company with a vast

amount of cultures has proven
challenging to so many people but I
seem to thrive in that arena and I
believe it is due to the exposure
AIESEC has given me.

!Alumnus working for TD Bank in

Canada

A large proportion of alumni (approximately 47%)

indicated that they proactively bring new ideas and
new projects in their organisation. The respondents
comments also seem to indicate that this may relate
back to the diversity of experiences and perspectives
that alumni encountered in AIESEC and its effect on
their ability to generate innovative ideas and projects
in diverse teams. One example is the comment on the
right of an alumnus from Germany, who related his
diverse AIESEC experiences to humbling co-creation,
innovation and strategic thinking.

Living and working in several

AIESEC countries and interacting
with members nation-wide in several
languages truly built my language
and cultural understanding within
varying workplaces and improved my
relationship building. Dealing with
complexity in multiple teams enabled
humbling co-creation, innovation and
strategic thinking.

Alumnus from Germany

Job Promotions

Percentage of Respondents (%)

The professional development of alumni also seems to be reflected in the following data, which
shows how long AIESEC alumni received a job promotion after leaving AIESEC.
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Less than 1 year Between one (1) Between three
and two (2)
(3) and five (5)
years
years

More than five

(5) years

I have not been

promoted yet

I became an
entrepreneur

Timing of First Promotion

Forty-three per cent (43%) of respondents were

promoted within one year of leaving AIESEC, while
30% were promoted between one and two years after
leaving. This speed of promotion may be partly due to
the organisational skills and experiences that are
gained from participating in AIESEC programs, as
indicated by repeated comments from the alumni
respondents. For example, the comment on the right is
what one alumnus from Australia said regarding his
internship in Switzerland.!

The AIESEC experiences prior to my

internship prepared me to enter a
commercial environment post
undergraduate study with real value
to my employers. The internship
provided relevant commercial
experience to jump-start my career in
a management role.

Also, this career progress may be partly due to

AIESEC enabling its members to discover career paths
that they are truly passionate about, and therefore
more motivated towards, since this is a very common
recurring theme in the responses. The comment on the
right is an example of this from an alumnus from
Bangladesh.!

AIESEC made me realize who I am

and who I want to be It taught me
how to perfect what I was good at,
and how to work with what I wasn't
good at. It gave me my true passions
PR, communications, leadership,
innovation, and a world of social
causes to fight for.

!
!

The alumni surveyed were asked to rank the

degree to which AIESEC influenced their
professional development on a scale of 1 to
10 (1 being no influence, and 10 being
extreme influence).!

As can be seen in the graph, most

respondents indicated a high to extreme
degree of influence.

Degree of Influence

Degree of AIESECs Influence

Head of Business Development

and Planning at Syngenta in
Australia

Alumnus from Bangladesh

10 (Extreme)
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1 (None)
0%

10%

20%

30%

Percentage of Respondents (%)

10

Skills Development
The alumni were asked to select from a list of skills that they felt they gained the most from their
AIESEC experience. The following graph shows the results:!
Public speaking
Cultural sensitivity
Ability to see the big picture
Relationship building
Project management
Co-creating and brainstorming
Collaboration
Strategic thinking
Networking skills
Problem solving
Dealing with complexity
Foreign language skills
Planning
Oral and written communication skills
Time management
Ability to work virtually
Sales skills
Negotiation skills
Personal effectiveness
Coaching
Teamwork
Innovation
Other
0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Percentage of Respondents (%)

The graph shows that the skills that are most commonly developed (greater than 40% of
respondents) are public speaking, cultural sensitivity, ability to see the big picture, relationship
bulging and project management. The skills that seem be to least commonly developed (less
than 25% of respondents) are teamwork and innovation.!

For this data to be more useful, though, it is worthwhile segmenting it according to each program.

11

The tables below show the top 10 skills developed by participants in each program.

TMP

TLP

Dealing with complexity

64%

Public speaking

67%

Time management

60%

Cultural sensitivity

60%

Foreign language skills

55%

Project management

56%

Problem solving

54%

Ability to see the big picture

55%

Relationship building

53%

Relationship building

53%

Teamwork

51%

53%

Project management

51%

Strategic thinking
Co-creating and
brainstorming

Collaboration

49%

Collaboration

49%

Planning

48%

Problem solving

47%

Networking skills

47%

Networking skills

47%

GIP

52%

GCDP

Cultural sensitivity

76%

Public speaking

59%

Public Speaking

65%

Cultural sensitivity

58%

Ability to see the big picture

57%

Strategic thinking

51%

Relationship building

56%

Project management

50%

Foreign language skills

56%

46%

Project Management

52%

Dealing with complexity

50%

Collaboration

49%

Ability to see the big picture

Co-creating and
brainstorming
Collaboration
Foreign language skills

42%

Strategic Thinking

49%

Co-creating and
brainstorming

Relationship building

40%

48%

Planning

40%

12

44%
42%

There are a few interesting observations from this data.!

Cultural sensitivity is substantially higher for

participants of GIP (76%) than the other programs.
This may be due to the intense cultural immersion for
an extended period of time that is usually experienced
in GIP, which alumni respondents have repeatedly
mentioned. For example, in the comment on the right,
an alumnus from Austria describes the value of his
internship experience.!

My internship in South Africa during

times of change This traineeship
outside Europe influenced my views
on the world and Africa heavily and
definitely changed me as a person.

Alumnus from Austria

Although Foreign language skills does not appear

within the top 10 skills of the total respondents, it does
for GIP and GCDP participants (fifth and eighth,
respectively). Again, this may be due to the exposure
to a different country and culture. However, this skill
also ranks highly for TMP participants (third). This may
be because many AIESEC members in non-English
speaking countries valued their membership in
AIESEC as an opportunity to enhance their English
language skills. The comments to the right are a few of
many similar ones.!

Knowledge of my English became

better and I'm thankful to all my
AIESEC international friends because
of that.

!
from Croatia
!I gained the Alumnus
ability to speak English
and work with multicultural teams.
!
Alumnus from France

Project Management is a skill that appears higher in the rankings for TLP and GCDP
participants than the other programs. This indicates that these programs may be more suitable
for gaining this particular skill development, especially since managing projects is a common part
of the job description of many TLP and GCDP roles.!

Teamwork and Time management appear only in the top 10 list for TMP. This suggests that
perhaps TMP is more effective in developing these particular skills than the other programs.!

Certain skills do not appear in any of the top 10 lists, including Oral and written communication
skills, Ability to work virtually, Sales skills, Negotiation skills, Personal effectiveness,
Coaching and Innovation. This indicates that perhaps none of AIESECs programs are
particularly effective in developing these skills. It may be relevant for AIESEC to explore how its
programs can be enhanced to better deliver this skill development.

13

Personal Values
The alumni were asked to list their personal values. The word cloud below visually depicts the
commonality of words used by respondents to describe their values.

The list below shows the top 10 most common sets of values mentioned by alumni and their
frequencies.

Values (Keywords)

Count

%
Responses
Containing
Keywords

Honesty, integrity, sincerity, genuinity, authenticity, ethics, trust,

reliability

389

36%

Respect, diversity, inclusiveness, tolerance, peace, harmony

200

18%

Family, friendship, relationships

178

16%

Kindness, generosity, compassion, care, altruism, love, empathy

136

12%

Enjoyment, fun, humour, positivity, optimism, happiness, joy

121

11%

Hard work, proactivity, excellence, progress, achievement

92

8%

Personal growth, development, fulfilment, learning

72

7%

Perseverance, reslience, determination, commitment, boldness,

courage

69

6%

Work-life balance, health, well-being

67

6%

10

Equality, fairness, justice

56

5%

14

The majority of alumni respondents (36%) identify with values related to

honesty, integrity, sincerity, genuineness, authenticity, ethics, trust and
The
reliability. Values relating to diversity, respect, inclusiveness, tolerance,
peace and harmony are also common, which is consistent with the
AIESEC
personal and professional characteristics related to diversity that
many alumni have developed (discussed earlier).!
Values

The personal values of the alumni are generally aligned to the

organisational values of AIESEC. For example, Set 1 relates to
Demonstrating Integrity; Set 2 relates to Living Diversity;
Set 5 relates to Enjoying Participation; and Set 6 relates to
Striving for Excellence.!

!
!
!
!

Demonstrating Integrity!
Striving for Excellence!
Enjoying Participation!
Acting Sustainably!
Activating Leadership

This indicates that AIESEC may attract like-minded

people who share similar values because they are
aligned to the organisations set of values. This is
reflected by the comments of some of the alumni
respondents, such as the comment on the right of an
alumnus from Nigeria.!

AIESEC also seems to allow members to achieve

greater clarity in their personal values. Some alumni
respondents made comments like the one on the right.!

Living Diversity!

My closest friends where cultivated

through AIESEC because our values
and beliefs are aligned.

Alumnus from Nigeria

The values that drive my life were

defined during my time in AIESEC and
the original learning plan I developed
when I was still in AIESEC still
influence my life and who I am as a
leader in the corporate world.

Alumnus from Brazil

Until death, we are too

young to have preconceived
notions.!

Pratyush Sureka!
Alex Astral Power Private Limited!
Kolkata, India

15

Alumni Impact in
the World
The vast majority of alumni (76%) said that they feel they are currently making a
positive impact in the world. This section of the report focuses on the third key question of
the study, which aims to explore what kind of impact this is. The section looks at how alumni
describe their life purpose, the kinds of impactful activities that they are involved in, and the ways
in which AIESEC has enabled its alumni to lead impactful lives.

Life Purpose
When asked about what they believe their life purpose to be, the majority of the alumnis
responses generally related to three common themes:

!
!

Become the best I can be

Help others be the best they can be

Help make the world a better place

Examples of typical responses include:

Broaden
people's horizons,
make them know that
there is more to what they
see daily. Create tools to make
education reach everybody
everywhere. Education can give
opportunities and create better
leaders.

Being useful to people, to society, to

my country, to the world. Because
that's what we're here for. Ultimately,
our mission, as a human being is to be
useful for the world.

Alumnus from Armenia

I aim to have positive interactions

with those I cross paths with. To learn
from others to improve myself and to
inspire and support others to have a
positive impact. In future, I hope to
utilise my (hopefully) greater
influence in political, business and
social terms to support the issues and
values important to me and my
society.

Alumnus from Peru

My goal and dream is to build a big

global company by the age of 29,
which makes a positive impact on
society on a big scale (millions of
people), innovates and operates in
different countries.

Alumnus from Russia

Alumnus from Australia

These insights suggest that AIESECs alumni tend to have a mindset and willingness to lead
lives that are impactful to themselves, to others and to the world, which is related to the
Responsible to the World aspect of the leadership development model. The next subsection
examines what kinds of impactful activities alumni are actually involved in.

16

Impactful Activities
The alumni were asked to select from a list of activities that apply to them in their lives. The
following graph shows the results.

I have environmentally friendly consumption habits

I donate for charities
I volunteer for social causes
I am supporting NGO(s)
I am encouraging/participating in Corporate Social
Responsibility activities
I constantly promote information about global issues
I promote peace in my nearest circle
I develop initiatives that solve problems in my
community
I promote politics that help the development of my/other
community
I am a project leader/manager of a project in an NGO
I am a social entrepreneur
I have gained recognition for my social work
Other
0%

5%

10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Percentage of Respondents (%)

Many alumni who selected options such as I volunteer for social causes and I am supporting
NGO(s) seemed to specifically mention supporting young people in different ways, such as
through career advice, mentoring and specific projects focused on youth issues. The following
are a few examples:!
As a mentor, the inspiration I am
driving among other youth helps them
see the way they can change
themselves, and most of them apply
some tips I am sharing during my
Sharing Experience sessions and they
work well.

I started my own youth

environmental NGO (Go Green) that
educates and activates young people
to take an active role in environmental
projects.

Alumnus from Republic of

Macedonia

As a lecturer, I'm empowering youth

to have an innovative and personal
approach in life based on facts and
values.

I help organize a youth festival and

other social initiatives focused on the
problems of youth in my hometown.

Alumnus from Cameroon

Alumnus in Bulgaria

17

Alumnus from Republic of

Macedonia

Although not reflected in the graph, another

common trend in the alumnis responses relates to
creating impact through good business practice,
whether it be through ensuring business
sustainability, better management of people or
creation of wealth and jobs. A few examples are on
the right.!

The recurrence of these kinds of comments

suggests that perhaps positive impact should not
necessarily only refer to achieving direct social
outcomes, but also to enhancing the way that
business is conducted in order to create indirect
social impact.!

I help my company to deliver better

results and this means to produce food
to the world in a more sustainable
way, by giving the right guidance to
my team (developing them).

As a Human Resources leader I have

the capacity to drive practices that
ensure engagement, satisfaction and
fairness. I support leaders behave
based on ethical standards.

For most alumni, creating impact does not seem to

necessarily mean creating change in broader
society or the world. Most alumni describe their
impact as simply creating a loving family and
spreading positive values within their inner circle.
Many comments are similar to the one on the right.!

From a professional perspective, we facilitate

worldwide commerce through risk mitigation - which
is absolutely essential for progress and the reason
our corporate tagline is Make your world go.!

However, I feel a persons most important

contribution is in their community and in their home,
and that no success can compensate for failure in
the home. My

biggest contribution to
this world happens within the
walls of my home for my wife
and children.!

Michael Yeats!
XL Re Latin America Ltd.!
Bogota, Colombia

18

Alumnus from Brazil

Alumnus from Mexico

I have a daughter and a family that I

care and love and I try to teach the
values that AIESEC helped me define.

Alumnus from Brazil

AIESECs Degree of Influence

The alumni were also asked to rate the degree of AIESECs influence on their ability and
willingness to achieve positive impact in the world (1 being no influence, and 10 being extreme
influence). The following graphs show the results for the total respondents and for respondents
who participated in each AIESEC program.

Breakdown of Program
Participants

Total Respondents
10 (Extreme)

10 (Extreme)

8
7
Degree of Influence

Degree of Influence

TMP
TLP

GIP
GCDP

1 (None)

1 (None)
0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

0%

Percentage of Respondents (%)

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Percentage of Respondents (%)

The results suggest that AIESEC does have a significant influence on its members ability and
willingness to achieve positive impact in the world, since almost 60% of respondents selected a
rating of 8 or above.!

There are also different trends depending on the program of participation. A rating of 8 or above
was selected by higher proportions of GIP and GCDP participants (70% and 64%, respectively)
than participants of TMP and TLP (50% each). Also, a rating of 4 or less was selected by higher
proportions of TMP and TLP participants (19% and 18%, respectively) than participants of GIP and
GCDP (5% and 4%, respectively). !

This suggests that alumni who intern or volunteer

abroad through AIESEC tend to be more influenced by
their experience in terms of ability and willingness to
make positive impact in the world. This may be due to
the new perspectives gained from being in another
culture and exposed the issues of other countries, as
discussed throughout this report. One example (on the
right) comes from an Australian alumnus who
participated in an internship in Poland.!

Examples like this demonstrate how the influence of

AIESEC programs on participants perspectives can
also impact their career goals and inspire them to lead
more impactful lives.!

I did an internship in Poland teaching

English to the long term unemployed.
Here I realised the impact of assisting
others to develop their self confidence/
esteem and wanted to have a more
social impact on society rather than a
material impact (of being an
accountant). After this I decided to
change careers into HR from
Accounting.

Alumnus from Australia

It may be worthwhile for AIESEC to explore why it is that TMP and TLP tend to have less influence
on participants in this regard, and how the programs can be enhanced to empower more of their
participants.

19!

AIESECs Influence on Different Alumni Generations

There is a negative correlation of roughly -0.6 between the age of alumni respondents and their
rating of the degree of AIESECs influence on their ability and willingness to impact the world. This
suggests that the younger generations of alumni tend to be more influenced by AIESEC to lead
impactful lives than older generations. A possible reason for this is AIESECs increased focus on
leadership and global impact since the early 2000s, which may have translated into more personal
influence on members.!

How AIESEC Enables Impact

The explanations of the alumni respondents regarding specifically how AIESEC enabled their
ability and willingness to create positive impact can be summarised to six recurring responses:

Developing the passion and drive

to impact the world

Helping understand the world and

what it needs

Helping develop organisational

skills and competencies

Creating a network of like-minded

people

Helping become open to different

points of view

Creating exposure to new cultures

and countries

The experience has impacted greatly my global

desire to work with all cultures to help them
improve themselves, especially with regards to the
financial sector.

Alumnus from Finland

The global network made me realize that we have

the same kind of problems in this world and it is up
to us to solve these problems.

Alumnus from Indonesia

AIESEC influenced my ability to make an impact

by providing me with the hard and soft skills as
well as the confidence to be successful.

Alumnus from Australia

AIESEC has exposed me to a plethora of impactdriven people from around the world, which has
highly inspired and influenced who I am today.

Alumnus from Greece

AIESEC taught me the importance of sharing ideas

and mindful listening.

Alumnus from Canada

Connecting with other cultures gave me a broader

understanding of the world and global problems. I
felt part of a big community, a global village.

20

Alumnus from Armenia

Conclusions
This study aims to create an understanding of the leadership
development that AIESEC enables in its members and the subsequent
impact that they go on to create in the world. Below is a summary of conclusions,
structured according to the three key questions of this study.!

!
What is the extent of AIESECs influence on the leadership development of its members?!
!

AIESEC has a substantial influence on the leadership development of its members through
its programs.!
TMP and TLP seem to particularly influence characteristics of Effective Communication.!
GIP seems to provide more holistic development in the three areas of Effective
Communication, Self Aware and Responsibility to the World.!
GCDP, along with GIP, seems to be specifically influential on its participants cultural
awareness.!

!
What are the leadership traits that characterise AIESEC alumni?!
!

The most common personal characteristics that AIESEC alumni seem to have developed
include broader perspective and understanding of the world, appreciation of similarities, and
personal confidence and drive.!
The most common professional characteristics that AIESEC alumni seem to have developed
include the ability to get along with diverse employees at work and proactively bring new
ideas and projects in the workplace.!
The vast majority of alumni surveyed obtained a job promotion within the the first two years
after leaving AIESEC.!
The most common skills gained by alumni are public speaking and cultural sensitivity.!
Cultural sensitivity skills are more particularly developed in GIP participants.!
Foreign language skills are more particularly developed in participants of GIP, GCDP and
TMP.!
Project management skills are more particularly developed in participants of TLP and GCDP.!
The most dominant set of values that most alumni hold are related to honestly, integrity,
respect, diversity, family, friendship and relationships.!
Values held by AIESEC alumni are generally aligned to AIESECs values.!

!
What impact have AIESEC alumni had in society?!
!

Alumni generally define their lifes purpose as being to lead a life that is impactful to
themselves, to others and to the world.
Impactful activities that alumni engage in are particularly in the areas of social/community
development (especially towards youth), creating good business practice, creating loving
families and spreading positive values.
AIESEC has a high degree of influence on its members ability and willingness to impact the
world, especially through GIP and GCDP.
The younger generations of alumni tend to be more influenced by AIESEC to lead impactful
lives than older generations.

While this report shows the success of AIESEC in enabling leadership development in young
people to make a positive impact on society, it also raises a number of areas in which AIESEC can
improve and innovate in its programs to deliver better leadership development experiences. It is
hoped that this study provides useful insights to assist the continued growth and development of
AIESEC in working towards its mission.

21

Written By

!
Ala Al-Mahaidi
Australia
!
Contributors
!Ala Al-Mahaidi Australia
Wilfried Assoko
Caio Donini
Darko Gazibara
Viktor Karevski
Agata Lowkiet
Olga Tsygankova

Cte dIvoire
Brazil
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Republic of Macedonia
Poland
Russia